- Date: April 29, 2023
- Distance: approx. 6.5 miles
- Elevation Gain: 3,700′ ft
- Trailhead: La Plata trailhead
After a few days of skiing the storm snow at the resort, Mark and I decided to venture into the backcountry to see if we could find a safe objective to ski in the stabilizing snow conditions. We looked towards independence pass where it had snowed less over the previous few days and we had a better chance of finding safe conditions in steep terrain.
We had first laid eyes on Sayre’s Benchmark when we skied La Plata a few years prior. This ski lines shares a trailhead with the popular 14er and the parking at the trailhead was full as lots of other skiers flocked to La Plata and Sayer’s on that clear sunny Saturday.
We saw a group of four heading up the peak ahead of us and they put in a perfect skin track that made it almost to the summit. The track made for quick travel, and besides an icy/windy 100 yards of booting to the summit, it was a quick approach.
We saw some other folks behind us and met them on the summit before making our way down the “X-Rated” couloir. After a few variable turns at the top, we discovered incredible snow conditions through the rest of the ski. After the ease of the hike in the previous group’s skin track, we weren’t about to complain about second tracks, especially as the snow conditions continued to hold up.
After navigating a rocky crux in the middle of the ski line, we made perfect powder turns out the aprin to the bottom of the valley, passing another group of skiers and a pair of mountaineers booting up the couloir.
We skated out the valley floor before hiking the short way back to the car. We were excited that the snow downlow had not turned to slop and allowed us a quick exit. We loaded back up in the car and enjoyed the wildlife viewing on our drive back to Leadville.
